(New?) Idea for locking out taps

[Schlenkerla]

Mag stripe? In 2010? c'mon biometrics or at least contactless smart card.

OK - I think you are right!

 

[shortyjacobs]

keep a battery around so you can still drink if the power goes out.

lol, never thought of that. Of course, my Kegerator is in the garage, and I'm pretty sure I have a few 12V sources there. So I'll add positive and negative insulated bolts sticking through the side of the fridge. If the power goes out, I just get out my jumper cables and jump start the beer.

 

[gromitdj]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but wouldn't there be enough pressure in each keg to dispense a pint or two after the solenoid shuts off the gas flow. And if those pints were pulled, you would then have flat beer.

 

[Walker]

Valves are on the beer lines, not the gas lines.

 

[gromitdj]

Valves are on the beer lines, not the gas lines.

I stand corrected. Brilliant!

 

[bad coffee]

www.kegbot.org

B

 

[shortyjacobs]

www.kegbot.org

B

Yeah, but that's spendy, and complex.

 

[rodd]

I love the idea. Do you think that it would get gummy at all? I would imagine without being exposed to air it should be OK, but would love to hear from someone who knows.

 

[shortyjacobs]

I love the idea. Do you think that it would get gummy at all? I would imagine without being exposed to air it should be OK, but would love to hear from someone who knows.

Great question. I suppose it depends on how the valves work. I have no clue. Like I said, I have no need or funding to do this myself....I just thought it was a neat idea and wanted to share .

I would hope there would be some decent internal sealing to prevent beer from getting into the solenoid, and since the valves are normally closed, most of the mechanism is immersed in beer, (like a perlick 425/525 tap), and wouldn't get gummed up, (unlike, say, a normal cheapo tap, which has most of the mechanism OUTSIDE the beer, so it dries out and sticks easily)...but I'm not sure.

 

[ILOVEBEER]

You guys need a new circle of friends if you need to worry about locking up your beer.....never heard of this.

People stealing your stuff............................or.......put these fools on watch

 

[kegtoe]

do you have a Hemi in that thing??

 

[smellysell]

I just lock the door to the room?

 

[rodd]

You guys need a new circle of friends if you need to worry about locking up your beer.....never heard of this.]

More concerned with my 2 year old bumping a handle and losing the brew to the floor.

 

[Walker]

More concerned with my 2 year old bumping a handle and losing the brew to the floor.

That is/was also my main concern when I considered tap locks. I've got a 7 year old, a 5 year old, and a 2 year old. I'm not worried about them drinking the beer... just making a huge mess if they pull the handle when no one is looking.

I did buy faucet locks, but never installed them because they wouldn't fit on my taps due to my oversized DIY tap handles. While shopping around for real tap handles, my 5 and 2 year olds pulled the handle open on a keg that had just recently kicked.

It hissed loudly at them and spat out a blast of foam that scared the bejeezus out of them. They haven't touched the kegerator since that day and I'm selling my faucet locks.

 

[HarkJohnny]

It hissed loudly at them and spat out a blast of foam that scared the bejeezus out of them. They haven't touched the kegerator since that day and I'm selling my faucet locks.

ahahahah!!!! perfect solution!

but FF a few years when they are late teenagers and want to sneak some of Dad's homebrew.

 

[Walker]

ahahahah!!!! perfect solution!

but FF a few years when they are late teenagers and want to sneak some of Dad's homebrew.

Yeah, I've thought about that. I figure anything I try to to will probably fail (they will still get the beer) but I will have assisted them in picking up other nefarious skills like lock-picking or hot-wiring.

 

[JonW]

ahahahah!!!! perfect solution!

but FF a few years when they are late teenagers and want to sneak some of Dad's homebrew.

Yep, that's my concern. I have two teenage girls and our house is where many of the other kids come to hang out. I'm fairly confident that my kids wouldn't be indulging, but you never know about the other kids.

 

[ILOVEBEER]

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.......yes now I understand. I have a 10 year old and a newborn BOY.....he is the one I will have to worry about.

 

[bad coffee]

but I will have assisted them in picking up other nefarious skills like lock-picking or hot-wiring.

I used my lock picking ability to break back into my apartment yesterday. I grabbed the wrong set of keys going out the door.

I've always said my 'active' childhood taught me a lot of useful, but not quite legal, skills.

 

[dudasaj]

keep a battery around so you can still drink if the power goes out.

Don't these valves have a manual override.... In a pinch you could just physically position them to the open position

 

[BargainFittings]

I used my lock picking ability to break back into my apartment yesterday. I grabbed the wrong set of keys going out the door.

I've always said my 'active' childhood taught me a lot of useful, but not quite legal, skills.

A skill is a skill. Its the application and intent that differs.

 

[Walker]

Don't these valves have a manual override.... In a pinch you could just physically position them to the open position

I have no idea whether they do or not. I have not investigated the components that shorty linked to other than to glance at the materials used in the construction of the valves.

 

[extra_medium]

the potential here is awesome...a rechargeable battery from a power wheel, UPS or some other application wired up for power failure, then key locks in parallel where when on power an LED light, with a rechargeable battery you could even wire it into the temp controller (depending how frequently it kicks on). it will be interesting to see how long my homebrew lasts when my teenage son is cut off. (he still tries to deny he has been drinking! )

 

[Foosinho]

As I mentioned earlier, this is an elegant simple locking mechanism, but one alternative is to record the time and volume of all pulls. Not as simple, but has the added benefit of notifying you when the keg is low.

http://keg.maager.com/

Combine with a camera recording to a DVR, you could look at the logs, find pulls at suspect times, and know exactly where to look in the video logs. Teenager busted!

 

[dudasaj]

Would there be any concern with brass solenoid valves? Plenty of faucets have brass internals. My uncle can order the same style valve with a brass body for $7 each

 

[jeffmeh]

Would there be any concern with brass solenoid valves? Plenty of faucets have brass internals. My uncle can order the same style valve with a brass body for $7 each

Probably not a good idea to run the finished beer through the brass internals. The acidity of the beer could leech lead from the brass. Whether it would truly constitute a danger of lead poisoning I could not say, but I would not do it.

 

[wyzazz]

Probably not a good idea to run the finished beer through the brass internals. The acidity of the beer could leech lead from the brass. Whether it would truly constitute a danger of lead poisoning I could not say, but I would not do it.

I'll respectfully disagree on that one, like it was stated above, there are plenty of faucets/shanks that have brass internals. If you're worried about it you could always "pickle" your brass.

 

[Spartan1979]

So, did anyone ever do this? I wasn't worried about my older son drinking my beer, but I may need to lookout for my 13 year old.

 

[bengerman]

A skill is a skill. Its the application and intent that differs.

i agree with the spirit of this statement entirely, but try telling that to a cop if you get caught with a pick set or bump keys and no locksmith license. that being said, i have picked a couple locks (junkyard cars and my garage door lock) bypassed car alarm systems (my own) and hotwired a car (again, my own)

 

[sirhc1210]

If you really wanted to keep it simple and lowtech then you could do something similar to the OP, but instead of a electically actuated valve just use a manual one with "Lockout" equipment on it. These might function a bit better than the faucet locks perhaps?

http://www.bradyid.com/bradyid/pdpv/113231.html

http://www.omarksafety.com/category...S01_Ball_Valve_Lockout_(3_8_in__1_25_in_).cfm